A chiffchaff was singing when I arrived at the #allotment this morning, then a mistle thrush took over, accompanied by a variety of backing singers; 25 bird species noted around the site in total, including 3 GSWs, jay, sparrowhawk, collared dove and a very dapper male chaffinch.
#UKbirding
Two tall, bare trees framing one with rusty autumn leaves still attached and one bearing white blossom.
Doing a recce around Sudley Estate today for a guided bird walk in a couple of weeks, and liked this image of the bare trees of winter framing autumn and spring 🧡🤍
New paper! Bird nests (Wood Warblers) are hubs of invertebrate biodiversity on forest floor, hosting more species/individuals than leaf litter. Probably due to heat & food detritus. Losing Wood Warblers = ecological networks lost. #ornithology
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Great, thanks 👍
One of the best sounds of spring 💛
Great morning at ditton brook with @wordsanddeeds.bsky.social
Gw egret on the way there
Yellow hammers singing ,fieldfare,2 kestrel,buzzard, c150 golden plover with lapwings was lovely to see
Linnets,Reed buntings
Shovelers , coots,gadwall, teal on the pond
A border of daffodils, snowdrops and croci in front of a fence with allotments in the background.
After a brilliant morning at Ditton Brook with Jack, I called in at the #allotment and heard my 1st chiffchaff of the year and saw 2 sparrowhawks displaying.
Also heard a Cetti's there on Tuesday, although I could hardly believe it at the time, but apparently one was heard at River Oaks recently 🪶
@dfoyliv.bsky.social Hi Dan. I'm sure I heard a Cetti's on my allotment on Tuesday. When did you hear the one at River Oaks?
A marine with cobbles, boats and a distant canoe enclosure.
Neighbour spotted TWO kingfishers at Liverpool Marina yesterday early evening 🩵🩵
One was on top of the canoe enclosure - I would never have looked up there for it! 🪶
It's great that someone is looking after them in the winter, and what a wonderful sight 💚
I've done this in the past, and it really is depressing how much litter there is, but good on you 👍
Do you know about #thebigplasticcount, taking place next week? thebigplasticcount.com
Oh, that's really interesting to know. I'm hoping 'my' farm will sow a winter crop for the yellowhammers, so I'll include your observation when I chat to them. (They have recently planted lots of native hedgerows, which is great 😀)
A lovely sound to start the day 💛
(The ones I hear seem to disappear over winter and return in early March - maybe lack of food causing them to move elsewhere locally. Perhaps yours do the same?)
A blue sky over deep blue water and grassy beach; wading birds feed between sea and shore.
A blue sky over a deep blue sea; a yellow yacht with white sails floats in front of a large windfarm.
Had to go over the water for an appointment today, so called in at Hoylake just before the big high tide. Plenty of dunlin, oystercatcher, redshank, blackwit, curlew and shelduck near the shore, and a few common scoter further out 🪶
Lovely blue sky as well 🌞
This sounds fantastic! Is there any chance it could be recorded or delivered online at a future date?
Blue sky and white clouds above a large green field.
The whitewashed inner wall of a barn with various noticeboards and bunting in front of it; a robin is building her nest high up in a space in the wall.
A person with a smiley face holding a quince tree in a field.
Spent three great days volunteering at the farm. The sun even came out on Saturday afternoon 🌞
Many apple and other heritage fruit trees were planted - my contribution was a quince last month.
A robin building her nest high up in the wall in the main barn kept me company one day 😍
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) dying of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenze (HPAI). Once contracted, this disease invariably proved fatal for Gannets, and in 2022 ripped through Britain's breeding population, killing countless thousands of birds. Image © Jon Dunn
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) gathering marine waste to line its nest. This can have fatal consequences when birds entangle in plastic or nylon. Image © Jon Dunn
Gannets are fabulous. But they've had it tough lately. Marine pollution's a constant problem, and avian influenza hit them hard. The last thing they need is an annual hunt, even a small one in the name of tradition. Please consider signing to stop the hunt:
petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE...
*Someone* has apparently been pestering an #allotment neighbour - following him around and trying to perch on his arm 🙄
(Neighbour was quite disconcerted, even though robins are his favourite bird AND he's a large animal vet!)
A large treeon an allotment with wheelbarrow and other items around it.
White blackthorn blossom.
A robin on a faded green plastic chair next to a pair of old red gardening gloves.
Another brilliant bird-filled morning on the #allotment 🪶
Highlights: male and female GSW, goldcrest and chiffchaff (not singing) in next door's tree - all the birds love that tree! - sparrowhawk and jay.
21 species seen and/or heard.
Maya’s journey: rescue ➡️ rehab ➡️ release.
Maya was found orphaned at 12 weeks old in Nottinghamshire, weighing just 1kg when she arrived at the UKWOT rehab centre.
After around a year with us, she was released in Spring last year 🌱.
#otters #wildliferehab #wildliferescue
That doesn't sound pleasant 😕
I only take half a tablet as and when needed for anxiety/panic attacks, have done for a few years, and haven't noticed any problems... 🤞 In fact, they're a lifesaver for me.
Hope you find something else that works.
Have you heard a Little Owl recently? 👂
At this time of year, males can be especially vocal as they establish territories ahead of the breeding season 🦉
In the UK, territories are at their largest just before breeding, sometimes covering nearly 40 hectares...
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IT'S WEDNESDAY!
It's #buyastrangerabook day!
The grooviest day of all.
I'll give out TWO books.
FOR FREE.
If you'd like one, let me know.
Also, if you'd like to #BuyAStrangerABook too, let me know.
It's a thing! Look.
www.biggreenbookshop.com/stuff-you-mi...
UK only.
Alders with a bramble understorey and a blue sky full of fluffy white clouds behind.
A small ake, with a large group of trees in the background, under a cloudy grey sky.
A wide path leads down to the distant River Mersey; there are trees on both sides and a climbing frame on the left; all under a cloudy blue sky.
Had a recce of Festival Gardens for another possible bird walk; 18 species seen/heard, including siskin, stock dove and coal tit.
Plus a bonus bullfinch on the #allotment 😀🪶
Am a bit concerned about the amount of habitat 'tidying' by the FG friends group, though 🫤
Escaped sheep, nuclear warheads, fractured memories of road protests and this year's damp February days.
Just part of the many lives of Britain's common lands
open.substack.com/pub/commonpl...
helenbaczkowska.com
An allotment with paving slab paths, a number of bare earth beds, the closest one with vulbs in, a fence down the left side, and a distant tree and greenhouse.
Spent a perfect 4 hours on the #allotment today.
I thought the #bird highlight had to be the 3 siskin, then a female house sparrow popped out of the next plot's hedge - a ✅ for our end 😀
17 other species noted, inc. 2 nuthatch, m GSW, goldfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch, blackbird, robin, RNPs, etc.
A collage of spring flowers: white crocus and pink primrose, purple and white crocus, and orange and red primrose.
Signs of spring on the #allotment this morning🌷
Pair of ravens over the site, and all the usual suspects singing away 🎶
Beautifully observed 🤍
The winters Julia experienced, & the time she inhabited, seem very far away (I write this sitting on my allotment, coatless, in the warm sunshine.)
Have you read Len Howard's Birds as Individuals? She too lived a simple yet fulfilling life, making friends of her garden birds.
New post/ substack on missing the snow, the Bloomsbury lot at home, a doodlebug, a rallying winter ghost of 1947 (& when the snow buried a train & 1,000 people.) It took me an age to write, & is free. Tho' if you'd like to, there is a Ko-Fi button. Love & thanks x nicolachester.com/2026/02/21/g...
